I'll Care for You
by AnimeSickFic
Summary: The military dorms are full, and Ed must stay with Roy at his house. Ed wakes up sick one morning, and Roy is left to nurse him back to health. Parental!Roy. Non-yaoi. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: Hello ^_^ In this story, the Military Dorms are full, and since Ed is a minor, The Fuhrer insisted that Ed stay with Roy while Al is in Risembool visiting with Winry and Pinako. Yes, this is a parental!roy story. Hope you enjoy!**

Ed was woken up by a knock on his door. Blearily, he opened one eye, however doing this made his head throb.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" the young alchemist groaned, realizing his throat was sore. His groan was answered by an all-too-framiliar booming voice.

"Time to get up, Fullmetal. Breakfast is on the table. I'm going to get a quick shower, and when I'm out you better be ready to leave for Headquarters."

"Shut up, Colonel Bastard." Ed muttered into his pillow. The blonde alchemist rolled onto his side, causing him to cough. He put his metal hand to his mouth and clutched his chest with his flesh hand. "Ugh, my chest..." Ed croaked, barely above a whisper.

He slowly slid out of bed, causing a light 'thud' when his feet hit the ground. He took in a deep breath, only to realize how stuffed up his nose was.

Ed grabbed a tissue out of the box on the dresser, and gently blew his nose, trying to keep his headache from worsening. When he was done, he coughed a couple times, then glanced at the tissue. It was covered with thick, yellow snot.

_'Ugh, looks like I'm sick.' _Ed thought to himself. _'I could probably recover quickly if Colonel Ass Hat would let me stay home. But obviously that would never happen.'_

Ed started pulling on his clothes. _'Oh well. Maybe I can get Colonel Butt Hole sick!' _

The little alchemist started towards the kitchen, but was frequently stopped by a constant need to cough or by feeling lightheaded.

Once he was in the kitchen, he sat down at the table and looked at his food. Eggs, bacon, toast, and a glass of orange juice sat in front of him.

Ed took one look at the food, and pushed the plate away. Not that Roy wasn't a good cook or anything, but Ed just had no appetite.

The blonde-haired boy sat at the table and stared at his food while thinking about how much he'd rather be in bed. He didn't know how long he had sat there, but soon enough he heard Roy enter the kitchen.

"Good morning, Fullmetal." Roy greeted.

Before Edward could say anything, he sneezed loudly into his hands, sniffling afterwards.

"Nice to see you too." Roy said sarcastically. He pulled a new box of tissues out of the pantry, opened it, and tossed it to Ed.

Ed pulled out a tissue and mumbled "Shut up" to Roy before blowing his nose.

The Colonel noticed that Ed was looking a little pale, but he figured it was because he had just woken up and was tired. He would wake up soon enough. "So today's plan-"

Roy was interrupted by Ed. He was coughing, and from the way the boy was wincing every time he coughed, painfully.

"Umm, Fullmetal?" Roy asked during a break in Ed's coughing. Before Roy could say another word, the blonde boy started coughing again.

Roy grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. Once Ed had started coughing, Roy handed him the water, and watched as the boy downed it rather quickly.

Ed then reached for another tissue. He blew his nose, sneezed, and blew his nose again.

"Edward, are you okay?" Roy asked cautiously. Normally, he would poke fun at the little alchemist, but he could tell that something was truly wrong with Ed.

To answer Roy's question, Ed simply shook his head "No".

Roy reached his hand out and put it on Ed's forehead. The blonde's forehead was fairly warm, and he leaned into Roy's cool touch, which worried the Flame.

"Ed, you have a fever. Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" Roy questioned.

Ed shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't realize it until now."

Roy sighed. "Okay. Come with me, Ed." The older alchemist gently helped the younger alchemist up, and let him towards the couch where Ed crashed down ungracefully.

"Do I have to go to work?" Ed asked hoarsely, coughing afterwards.

"What? Of course not! You're sick. The only thing you should be doing is resting, not working." Roy said, shocked by the boy's question.

Ed looked up at Roy. "I thought you would've made me go in with you, because you don't like me."

Roy had been walking into the kitchen to grab the tissues and other things Ed would need, when the younger boy's words stopped him dead in his tracks. _'He thinks I don't like him...?' _Roy thought, appalled that Ed would ever think that.

Roy sighed, and came back over to the couch. He kneeled down so he was eye-level with the blonde alchemist.

"Ed, of course I like you. I wouldn't put so much effort into you if I didn't like you, and I certainly wouldn't let you stay in my house with me if I didn't. I actually have a great respect for you. Anybody who can become a State Alchemist at your age and who has such a passion for studying alchemy and such a determination to protect the people they care about has my respect. You've chosen a hard life, and I am extremely proud of you for sticking it out and for making the best of it. Believe it or not, I actually think of you as a son, in a way. Your health, safety, and happiness are some of my top priorities. And right now, we need to get you healthy again."

Ed didn't know what to say. He had respected and looked up to Roy in a father-like way, but never would have thought that Roy thought of him as a son. Ed felt loved, and cared for again. He finally had a fatherly figure back in his life.

"Roy..."

"Hmm?"

Ed reached his arms out and embraced Roy in a huge hug. "Thank you," Ed whispered, "for everything."

Roy smiled and returned the hug. He had always dreamed of having a son, but never believed it would really happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: Hello, and welcome to chapter two of _I'll Care for You_. Originally, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but it has been continued due to request. Thank you for your support on this story, and for your kind feedback. Now please enjoy chapter two. :D**

After Roy had settled Ed in on the couch, making sure he was comfortable and had everything he needed, the onyx haired alchemist left the room to call into headquarters to inform Lieutenant Hawkeye that neither he nor Ed would be coming in. Once off the phone, he started making some coffee for himself and some tea for Ed. While he was putting the coffee grounds in the machine, he was interrupted by some awful sounds coming from the living room where the small alchemist was.

Roy rushed into the living room, worry filling his mind every step of the way.

"Ed, are you okay-" his thought was cut short. Ed was coughing and hacking very hard, and it sounded extremely painful to Roy.

The Flame had left for the kitchen to get Ed some water, but as soon as he walked into the hallway, he heard an awful sounding cough followed by a splatter.

Roy turned around to find Ed doubled over the trash can, vomiting into it. The older man rushed to Ed's side, and started rubbing comforting circles on the boy's back.

"It's okay, Ed. You'll be okay." Roy reassured the young alchemist. He could tell that Ed had worked himself up, and was having a hard time slowing down the vomiting. Even after his stomach was empty, he kept heaving.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Relax and breath. You're okay." Roy told the sick alchemist. "Take deep breaths. That's it. You'll be okay."

Once Ed had slowed down his breathing, the heaving slowed down too, and soon stopped altogether. He kept his head hung over the trash can though, just to be safe.

Roy looked at him sympathetically. _'Poor kid...'_ he thought. "Do you think you're finished?"

Ed stayed still for a moment, then slowly shook his head, 'Yes'.

Roy helped Ed lean back on the couch, and pulled a blanket up to his chest.

"Well, I was hoping you had only caught the common cold, but it looks like you've caught the flu, instead." Roy said, running his fingers through Ed's hair in a calming way.

Ed sighed, and laid his head back on the pillow that was placed on the couch for him.

Roy continued running his fingers through Ed's hair, but soon moved his hand down to Ed's forehead. Roy frowned when he felt it was warm.

"I'll be back," he told the sick alchemist. "I'm going to get the thermometer from the kitchen. I think you have a fever, but I need to take your temperature to be sure."

Ed nodded his head, and closed his eyes. He felt tired, and absolutely awful. When he heard Roy enter the room again, he opened his eyes slightly.

"Okay, Ed, open your mouth. This will only take a minute." Roy told the little alchemist, who complied without a problem.

_'He must be really sick to cooperate with me like this so easily...'_ Roy thought to himself.

After a minute, the thermometer beeped, indicating that it was finished. Ed quickly removed the device from his mouth and immediately started coughing.

After Ed was finished, Roy took the thermometer from him.

"Were you holding that in the whole time?" Roy asked.

Ed nodded his head and sniffed.

"Ed, all you had to do was take it out, cough, and put it back in. You didn't have to do that." the older man said, holding out the box of tissues for the younger one to take.

While Ed was blowing his nose, Roy looked at the thermometer with a displeased look. "101.7, you have a fever. Do you feel hot?"

Ed shook his head. "Cold, actually."

Roy sighed. "I don't want your fever to go up, but I don't want you to be cold either. I guess it wouldn't hurt if you had one more blanket."

Roy left and soon returned with another blanket. When he walked into the room, he saw Ed sneezing into a tissue.

"Bless you." the Flame said as he gently placed the blanket over Fullmetal.

He tried to thank Roy, but ended up coughing instead.

Roy sighed and looked at Ed sympathetically. "You look awful, Ed." he said as kindly as he could.

"I probably feel worse than I look." was the younger man's response.

"Does your stomach still hurt?"

"Just a little bit."

For what seemed like the thousandth time that morning, Roy sighed. "I need to give you medicine to get your fever down, but it might upset your stomach more. Would you want to take something for your stomach before taking the fever reducer?"

The light haired boy looked at the dark haired man. "Honestly, I don't want to take anything. I just want to sleep..."

"Until we get your fever down, you're going to feel pretty sick. Would you want something to calm your stomach and then sleep for a bit?" Roy suggested.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I take some medicine, are you?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You got it." Roy replied.

Ed pouted, and muttered, "Fine, I'll take some."

Roy smirked at him, and left to get the medicine. When he came back, he saw that Ed had buried himself under the blankets.

"Come on, Ed. I know you're tired, but you need to take this."

Fullmetal groaned, and slowly emerged from under the blankets. However, he quickly dove back under when he saw what Roy had in his hand; a bottle of pink stomach pain medicine and a spoon.

Under the blankets, Ed coughed, and said, "Not happening! That stuff tastes like shit."

"Language, Ed. And this is all I have. Besides, this works better than those chewable ones. It'll be over quickly, and after you take it you can sleep."

The blonde slowly peeked his head out from underneath the blankets. "Promise?"

Roy chuckled. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, was acting like a little kid would. Plus, with only his head peeking out of the blankets, he resembled one, too.

"Promise." Roy said with one of his rare warm smiles.

Ed pulled the covers down to his waist, and shakily pushed himself up to a sitting position.

Roy poured the medicine onto the spoon, and held it out for Ed to take.

Ed hesitantly put his hand out, but then pulled it back and gave Roy his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Not going to work, Ed."

The little alchemist pouted and grabbed the spoon. As he was putting it in his mouth, he muttered, "You have no heart."

After Ed swallowed the medicine, Roy took the spoon from him to put back in the kitchen along with the medicine.

"Oh, I have a heart, alright," Roy called from the kitchen. "If I didn't, would I be taking care of you?"

Ed looked down at his blankets, and whispered, "I guess not."

Roy came back in the room, and took a seat on the couch next to his patient. "Besides, even you have to know that puppy-dog eyes don't work."

"It was worth a shot. That stuff is terrible."

Roy laughed lightly and ruffled Ed's hair. "Get some sleep. Hopefully when you wake up you'll feel better."

Ed nodded and laid down with his head on Roy's lap. Roy smiled down at him, and stroked his hair until the young man fell asleep.

Even while Ed was as lee, Roy still took care of him. When Ed would cough, Roy would pat his back until he stopped, he would feel Ed's forehead to check for fever periodically, and even wiped the little alchemist's nose when it was needed. Roy did all he could do for him without waking him.

Roy found taking care of Ed satisfying and relaxing.

After a few hours of taking care of the sleeping Ed, Roy found himself so relaxed he was getting sleepy. He closed his eyes, and before he knew it he was asleep, too.

**Author's Note: End? Maybe. It just depends on if you want it continued. If you do, please leave a review. If you have a suggestion for another story, feel free to message me. Thank you for your continued support. :3**


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